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Gresham man faces hate crime charges

A Gresham man is being investigated for a hate crime after he threatened and yelled racial slurs at a black teenager.

Michael James Black, 64, was arrested on Saturday, May 11, and is facing charges of second-degree intimidation and menacing from the Multnomah County District Attorney's office for the incident with the teen that occurred the night before.

According to the affidavit, the 14-year-old was riding his bike home around 11 p.m. with a couple of friends after basketball practice. His friends were on foot, so after getting a few blocks away, the teen started riding his bicycle in a circle to stall for time in a cul-de-sac.

Black was sitting in a chair alone at one of the houses at the cul-de-sac. Court documents show he yelled at the teen, "This is private property," and "(Expletive), I will blow your head off." Police said Black then stood up and walked into his home, which is what led the teen to believe he was getting a gun. The teen fled to his home, told his mother and called the police.

According to the teenager, he never got off his bicycle during the encounter and stayed about 30 to 40 feet away.

When police spoke with Black, he told them a young black man got onto his property and started a verbal argument. Black said he told the teen to leave, and thought he had a knife, though he admitted to investigators that he cannot see well.

Police said that the two did not know each other, though the teen lives nearby.

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